The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is investigating an antisemitic incident at a high school, a week after it had to issue a statement stating that the “vile and antisemitic” messages that a Jewish school trustee received were “unacceptable and inexcusable.”
In a letter sent to families at Sir Robert Borden High School, principal Matt Gagnier said that on Dec. 1, two Jewish students were called into a room where they saw a large swastika displayed on the floor and a student made a Nazi salute.
“This is a blatant act of hate and antisemitism, which is absolutely unacceptable,” Gagnier wrote.
The school launched an investigation as soon as it learned of the incident. Students responsible will face “proper disciplinary and educative measures,” the letter said.
“There is more work to be done in our school and community to combat antisemitism and hate. In addition to the immediate disciplinary action, the school will undertake learning activities for both students and staff. This will include assemblies to share information and reiterate our shared stance against antisemitism.”
The Ottawa Police Services’ hate unit is also investigating the incident.
In this case, it appears the administration is dealing with the situation “appropriately” and the affected family feels that way as well, said Andrea Freedman, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa.
The Jewish community has seen more outreach and better communication since a different superintendent took over the file in September, she said
“But this comes on the heels of two years of inaction and attention by the board,” she said.
In the past week alone, about three or four antisemitic incidents in schools have been reported to the Ottawa Federation.
Newly elected OCDSB trustee Nili Kaplan-Myrth, the only Jewish member on the board, has been threatened and harassed since she introduced a motion to bring back masks to classrooms.
Kaplan-Myrth, a family physician, drafted the motion after CHEO, the children’s hospital serving Eastern Ontario announced it was over capacity caring for children with respiratory infections and asked the community to return to masking.
After the Nov. 24 meeting, Kaplan-Myrth said she was “bombarded” with antisemitic and misogynistic emails and phone calls.
She asked the board for help and at first, it simply “quarantined” her email, which simply meant that she couldn’t see it.
“That is not an adequate response. It means if we don’t look, we don’t have to deal with it,” she said in an interview with The CJN
It took two weeks for the board to publicly issue a statement that was sent to families and staff in the school system.
“It’s inexcusable. If it were any other form of racism…they would have acted swiftly, for sure,” she said.
The board’s statement acknowledged that “we are aware of the vile, antisemitic statements targeted at Trustee Kaplan-Myrth. Many of these statements have included antisemitic slurs, epithets, threats of harm, aggression and in some cases illegal activity. This is unacceptable and inexcusable.”
The board said it would investigate anyone making aggressive statements. So far, no investigations have been undertaken, Kaplan-Myrth said.
The trustee is encouraged that the board is investigating the incident at Sir Robert Borden, but said it needs to do much more to address antisemitism.
The high school is not in her ward; she only became aware of the incident when she asked the Jewish Federation to send her reports. Trustees need to be made aware of hate-motivated and antisemitic incidents at every school.
“If we all get a regular report, then it’s not just my responsibility as the Jewish woman on the board to deal with it, it becomes everybody’s problem to say look at what is happening,” she said. “I want an update on my desk at each committee of the whole meeting. I want to know what has transpired and what has been done, so we can really hold the board accountable.”
Freedman and Kaplan-Myrth both say that Jewish representation is needed on the board’s equity committee.
“It’s time for them to understand that antisemitism presents itself differently and that Jews as an at-risk group are different than some of their other marginalized communities but the hate that they’re facing is real,” Freedman said. “The hate that they’re facing hasn’t been dealt with.”
The OCDSB did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
